How Ferrante’s neighbourhood tells a story of Italy’s transformed politics

Few people in Rione Luzzatti are aware of how intriguing they and their rundown neighbourhood have become thanks to the phenomenal success of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. Located to the east of the Naples train station, the district is believed to have been the setting for the childhood home of the two protagonists, Elena and Lina. “People around here don’t really read books,” says Pascale Edoardo.
Plagued by crime and high unemployment, his fellow Neapolitans dismiss Rione Luzzati as a hostile no-go zone. Ferrante fans are more likely to flock to the more salubrious areas of this... read more

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